cdn_rd

As do I.

jennieG

Just applied now but only conditionally approved (not enough credit history in Canada yet maybe?).

I was not happy about the $50 fee for additional card ... sigh. Really reduces our earning power ...

jennieG

Yeah, but doing so could affect your credit score ...

whotelsfan

Hey just wanna let you know that I think if you pass directly by Amex internet site (or the phone) you will have to pay for the first year... it doesn't say that the first year is free on their site... you have to pass trough the email invitation or the link provide in earlier posts.

I applied today and was approved!

However they will have to improve the card or offer renewal bonuses to keep me.

Like others said it would be great to have more insurances... like travel cancellation, medical...

Like I said earlier it would be great to have referral bonuses.. like 5000 points (and the first year free for the applicant).

Instead of the Gold status after 30 000$ I think they should give like 5 stays credit or something so that it would be easier to attain gold or platinum for every cardholder...

And I am wondering why we are not earning more points when we use the card in Starwood hotels... with other credit cards for like Marriott or Hilton or even the SPG card in the US they earn more points when they use their card in hotels... So, I would like to see that feature! 2 points for 1$ spent using Amex SPG in Starwood Hotels!

whotelsfan

ohh and if it says that you are approved conditionally you can call them to see if they can do something... sometimes they just have to check something with you... It did that to me.. I call they just needed one information and they approved it right away! So, you may try that!

YLW

Hasn't seemed to for me, or for many others who have posted. YMMV
I do cancel "unused" cards regularly. Churn, baby, churn : )

SPG lost my love with their announcement of the $120 fee, (and they have no idea what a promoter I was of their previous card-- they should have been paying ME) but held me for another year with the freebie offer.

bacan

My MBNA MasterCard had an insanely large limit, but I applied for it long before the recession. Generally, I think that American lenders have tightened up considerably. If you're really unhappy then you could always try giving customer service a call when you receive the card, rather than speaking to their new accounts department. Just make sure that you have all the facts lined up before you call -- salary, credit history, etc.

If it makes you feel any better, when I applied online for the Amex SPG card, I wasn't immediately accepted so I gave their new accounts department a call. As soon as I verified the exact same information that I had typed in online, I was approved. That seemed a bit strange to me especially as I have been an Amex cardholder with a charge card for a number of years. I was then told that they couldn't inform me what my own credit limit was You would think that after my years of flawless credit and prompt payments we would have established a relationship. But honestly this felt like I was dealing with a completely new lender who had absolutely no experience with me.

bacan

Do we need two threads on this?

Vasyl

Word by word you repeated my application with Amex. I have been with Amex for 10 years, not a single missed payment and the rep asked me why I was so interested in my credit limit. He said I would see it when the card comes. Very strange and very untypical of Amex.

pointswhore

My limit was less than 1/3 of my SPG MC and I also have another AMEX card, but I thought it was reasonable. The mega high limit on my SPG MC was useless. I tried buying a couple of suits at Holt's with that card the other day (8% of my limit) and got the 'call card company' message. What's the point of having a high limit if they treat you like a thief when you try to use it for a piddly amount. All the card companies suck on some level, I guess.

Braindrain

Amex started reducing their limits for everyone about a year ago. Check out some older threads on the US SPG Amex. You'll see it's just not you.

loopies

Applied and got conditional approval, then answered 4 'history' type questions about previous addresses and got approved with the following message:

Welcome to American Express Card Membership
Your approved credit limit is $XXXXX
You will be receiving a package in the mail within 10 days containing your Card, the Cardmember Agreement and information on the benefits and services. Please read the materials carefully as they contain certain terms, conditions and restrictions.

As I understand it, it's spend $1000 in the first 3 months, collect 11,000 points - waived fee for the first year, seems worth it for at least one year.

100,000miler

in my humble opinion the new Starwood Amex card sucks.... the cost might be free for year one but the cost of redemptions is out of this world. There are far better options in my opinion.

They even have the gall to suggest that for the 11k intial bonus, you could get 3 free nights. Well just go ahead and find those at any major cities. Impossible and totally misleading. But likely true if you stay in places you never want to go to.

JWL

Not everyone's limits are going down. The limit on my Amex SPG card (actually my wife's) is slightly higher than it was with MBNA. It is equal to a third of her salary.

I will be applying in a year to get another year of fee waived Amex SPG (SPG Gold and Plat members can apply under this offer until March 2011).

allbrosca

My limit is about 2.5% of my income, but come to think of it, is the same as the limit on my old AMEX card that I hardly use. I will give them another try once I get the card. For a card with an annual fee, it would make it almost impossible to make it worthwhile because you wouldn't be able to generate enough points.